John H. (Jack) Hickey

John H. Hickey, also known as Jack, was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Duke Law School. For over 36 years, Jack has been trying personal injury and wrongful death cases in the areas of:

For the first 17 years of his career, he represented cruise lines, railroads, and other self-insured corporations. Nineteen years ago, he made the transition to representing plaintiffs.

Jack is one of the few attorneys in Florida who is Double Board Certified in Civil Trial and Admiralty and Maritime by The Florida Bar. He is also Board Certified as a Civil Trial Lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA).He is also a Past President of the Dade County Bar Association (DCBA), the largest voluntary bar association in Florida.

Jack is a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, the governing body of all lawyers licensed to practice in Florida. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association (FJA) and a State Delegate of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Jack is also the Secretary of the largest section of AAJ, the Motor Vehicle, Highway Safety, and Premises Liability Section. Jack is the Past Chair of 7 DCBA committees, Past Chair of 3 Florida Bar Committees, has received 17 Certificates of Merit from the DCBA "for outstanding and constructive service to the bench, the bar, and the public," has received 3 certificates from The Florida Bar "in recognition and appreciation of meritorious service to the public and legal profession in Florida, and has received a Certificate of Recognition from the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents for "dedicated leadership to the members of the legal community during service as President."

Jack is rated A/V by Martindale-Hubbell (the international listing of attorneys). He is also listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders in America. He has been chosen by other lawyers as a: "DCBA Legal Luminary in Admiralty" (2016); “Top Lawyer in South Florida” in the areas of personal injury and maritime in the South Florida Legal Guide (2004- Present); “Legal Elite” in Florida Trend Magazine (top 1.7% of attorneys) (2006-Present); and Superlawyer in the area of personal injury in Superlawyers.com (2006 -Present). Jack lectures frequently at meetings and conventions of lawyers nationwide and writes articles on trial practice and on substantive law including Admiralty and Maritime (the law which applies to injuries on cruise ships). He is a past Chair of The Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee and is Past Chair of the Admiralty Section of the American Association for Justice.

Recipient, 2017 Ervin Gonzalez Memorial Award (the first ever) by a committee of 20 lawyers and judges in Miami- Dade County, Florida – Awarded to an attorney who achieves excellence in the courtroom as a lawyer, in the classroom as a teacher, and in the bar as a leader

Recipient, 2016 and 2017 Legal Luminaries Award in Admiralty and Maritime Law by the Dade County Bar Association

National Law Journal’s Big Money Wins Top 50 Verdicts and Settlements of 2015, #6 Nationally and #1 in Florida

Top Florida Verdicts & Settlements of 2011 in VerdictSearch

Member of The Multi-Million Dollar Forum

Attorney of the Month in Attorney at Law Magazine, April 2016

“Top Attorneys in Florida” named by his peers, as published in The Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Magazine & Orlando Life (2014)

“Top Attorneys in Florida” named by his peers as published in the Wall Street Journal and Miami Magazine (2012)

Super Lawyer in the area of Personal Injury in SuperLawyers.com (2006 to present) (top 5% of all lawyers) named by his peers

“Legal Elite” in Florida Trend Magazine (2006 to present) (top 1.7% of all lawyers)named by his peers

“Top Lawyer in South Florida” in the areas of personal injury and maritime in the South Florida Legal Guide (2004 to present) named by his peers

Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders in America

Rated A/V by Martindale-Hubbell, the international directory of lawyers, a rating achieved by only 5% of attorneys. The rating indicates that the attorney “has reached the height of professional excellence” and is “recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity”.

Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocates as a Trial Lawyer (2000 – present)

Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Admiralty and Maritime Law (2012 – present)

Admissions to Federal Courts: All three Federal District Courts in Florida: Southern (including the trial bar)(1980 – present); Middle (1982-present); and Northern (1999- present); Federal Circuit Courts for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits; Supreme Court of the United States (1983 – present).

Other Bar and Civic Activities

The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 - invitation only organization that selects members based on strict qualifications and peer nominations

The National Trial Lawyers’ National Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 25

Board of Directors of The Florida Justice Association (FJA)- Directors of FJA pledge to make meaningful contributions to the Association by setting an example of leadership, committing time and energy to the Association’s activities, and providing personal and financial support.

American Association for Justice (AAJ) State Delegate - liaison between the AAJ Board of Governors and FJA. It is the responsibility of the State Delegates to assist the Board of Governors in attaining the objectives of AAJ by carrying out specific programs assigned to them by the Board of Governors or the President.

Board Member of Southern Legal Counsel (SLC)- Florida statewide not-for-profit public interest law firm that assists individuals and groups with public interest issues who otherwise would not have access to the justice system and whose cases may bring about systemic reform.

American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Member. ABOTA’s mission is to improve the ethical and technical standards in the legal profession and to aid in further education and training of trial lawyers. Membership is by invitation only and requires a 75% affirmative vote by both the chapter Executive Committee and the National Board of ABOTA.

Author and Presenter: "Cruise Ships: A Refresher on the Law and How to Successfully Represent Your Client" presented at the Florida Justice Association Convention "Transportation Law Seminar" - Palm Beach, FL (June 22, 2018)

Presenter: "The History of the Death on the High Seas Act and its Importance When Identifying Case Value and Litigation Opportunities" presented at the National Drowning Prevention Alliance's Aquatic Legal and Risk Management Symposium - Tampa, FL (April 7, 2018)

Presenter: “How to Get a $4.5 Million Verdict for 4 ½ years of Pain and Suffering” presented to the Minnesota Association for Justice in Minneapolis, Minnesota (November 10, 2016)

Author and Presenter: “Demand Letters, Brochures, Videos and Other Materials; What do I send and When?” presented at the American Association for Justice’s 2016 Annual Convention in Los Angeles, California(July 22, 2016)

Presenter: “Use and Admissibility of Diagnostic Films in Trial of an Auto Case” at the New Jersey Association for Justice Boardwalk Seminar (April 8, 2016)

Panel Member: AAJ panel for St. Thomas University School of Law Students (March 16, 2016)

Author and Presenter: “How to Negotiate the Best Deal for Your Client” at the American Association for Justice’s 2016 Winter Convention in Boca Raton, Florida (March 1, 2016)

Presenter: “Why the Corporate Representative May be the Most Neglected Key Witness… and How They Can Make Your Case” for the South Miami-Kendall Bar Association (October 30, 2015) adapted from paper for American Association for Justice 2014 convention in Baltimore, Maryland

Panel Member: "Winning Edge" panel sponsored by The Florida Bar Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism's Standing Committee on Professionalism and The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division at the Florida International School of Law (September 30, 2015)

Author and Presenter: “Typical Liability and Causation Defenses in a Typical Auto Case” presented at the American Association for Justice’s 2015 Annual Convention in Montreal, Canada (July 13, 2015)

Presenter/Panelist member: “Availability of Punitive Damages in Unseaworthiness Injury, Death, and Zone of Danger Cases” at St. Thomas University School of Law Symposium

Author: “Cruise Ship Accidents: What Are the Rights of the Passenger? An Update.” The New York Bar Association’s Senior Lawyer Magazine (2015)

Author and Presenter: “Why the Corporate Representative May be the Most Neglected Key Witness…and how they can Make your Commercial Motor Vehicle Case” presented at the American Association for Justice annual convention in Baltimore, Maryland (July 2014)

Author and Presenter: “Use of Corporate Representative Depositions in Maritime Cases” to be presented at the American Association for Justice annual Convention in Baltimore, Maryland (2014)

Author: “Cruise Ship Accidents: What are the rights of the passenger” The New York Bar Association’s Senior Lawyer Magazine (2014)

Speaker: Panel for the Torts and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association in Boca Raton, Florida (2014)

Author: “Death on the High Seas Act: What Is It and When Does It Apply and How to Overcome Obstacles Created Because of the Act” paper prepared for the Florida Justice Assocation Workhorse Seminar (February 2013)

Author: “How to Interview the Client to Get the Story on Damages” paper prepared for the American Association for Justice Winter Convention in Miami (February 2013)

*The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States. According to the Wikipedia description, Phi Beta Kappa is widely recognized and is considered as the nation's most prestigious honor society. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and to induct the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at American colleges and universities. It was founded at The College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776 as the first collegiate Greek-letter fraternity and was among the earliest collegiate fraternal societies. Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης (Philosophia Biou Kybernētēs), which means "Love of wisdom is the guide of life" or "Philosophy is the governor of one's life." There are Phi Beta Kappa societies at only 10% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. Only the top 10% of each class is eligible for membership, which is by invitation. Phi Beta Kappa publishes a quarterly, The American Scholar, a subscription-based journal which accepts essays on literature, history, science, public affairs, and culture and which is recognized as one of the best journals of its kind in the world.

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